Lids or covers for covering an opening of a container comprising a mechanism to close or block a liquid passage connecting the inside of the container to the outside of the container are currently available. There are different ways of closing and opening the liquid passage such as a tube, as described in US2010/0181329A1, U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,602,238B2, 8,622,237B2, US1120025332, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,203,468, 5,273,172, 5,332,131, 5,897,013, 6,279,773, 6,523,711, 6,609,624, 6,745,949, US20050029271 and EP1095599, etc.
In some of these lids or covers, the liquid passage is closed or blocked by bending or folding the liquid passage, which may be known, for example from US2010/0181329A1 and U.S. Pat. No. 8,602,238B2. A disadvantage of these types of lids or covers is that as the liquid passage is closed by bending or folding the tube or the spout which forms the liquid passage, an extra space needs to be provided in order to accommodate the bent tube or spout.
In some other lids or covers, the liquid passage is blocked by misaligning an upper portion of the liquid passage with a lower portion of the liquid passage. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 8,622,237B2 teaches this arrangement, in which the inlet 156 of the mount 100 is pivoted away from the inlet 80, the fluid conduit 74 is blocked. When the inlet 156 is pivoted to align with the inlet 80, the fluid is allowed to flow through the entire fluid conduit. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,881,643 and 5,337,918 disclose the similar mechanism of closing and opening the liquid passage. This type of lids and covers has the disadvantage of being complicated in structure as a result of the mechanism responsible for the misalignment present.
Therefore, there is a need for a lid assembly that is both space saving and simple in structure.